About Jacob Stein:
1. Who is the person being interviewed?
2. What is his title or position?
3. What is his race, gender, and age?
4. Where is the Interview taking place?
5. What is the date of the interview?
6. Who is the interviewer?
7. If you can find a picture of this person, put it on the page next to your answers.
Answers: 1. Jacob Stein 2. Jacob Stein is an informant 3. Jacob Stein is Russo-Jewish, but was born in Poland, he is a man, and he is the age of thirty-nine years old when the interview occurred. 4. The interview took place in New York City, in Union Square 5. The date of the interview is December 5th, 1938. 6. The interviewer is B. Hathaway 7. No pictures were available
Image, Source: digital file from original slide
This picture respresents the tremendous struggles that the African American population went through just to feed theirselves and have clothes on their backs. Even though African Americans were freed from slavery, the working conditions were similar to the ones slaves were forced to be in. As portrayed in this picture, a migrant working family is standing outside a tin-roof shack, one that is most likely in a shantytown by their work place. The clothes that the family has are very tattered and barely fit them. The children are very small, suggeesting that they have not eaten in a long while. If this family has a father that lives with them, he is most likely working for almost no pay, desperately trying to keep his family alive. This is completely symbolic of the hardships that the African American population of America faced during The Great Depression; terrible living conditions, tattered, old clothing that does not fit, and being awfully thin due to the fact that food is especially hard to obtain due to the lack of a steady source of income. It was also hard for African Americans because they were racially unaccepted in the South, and in places of the North, giving people an irrational reason not to hire them, and to hire only white people, mostly men. The mindset was that the white man deserved the job more than an African American man, however, this is not the case; both deserved the equal right to feed, house, and clothe their families.
OBSERVE
REFLECT
QUESTION
Describe what you see.
What do you notice first?
What people and objects are shown?
How are they arranged?
What is the physical setting?
What, if any, words do you see?
What other details can you see?
Why do you think this image was made?
What’s happening in the image?
When do you think it was made?
Who do you think was the audience for this image?
What tools were used to create this?
What can you learn from examining this image? ·
What’s missing from this image?
If someone made this today, what would be different?
What would be the same?
What do you wonder about...
who?
what?
when?
where?
why?
how?
Image, Source: intermediary roll film
I see a corn field with dried out dirt and dying corn stalks. I noticed the soil in the photograph first because it is so dry and incapable of growing decent food. There are no people in in this picture, but there is dried out corn stalks, wasting away. They are arranged in neat rows, not that it matters as the plants are dying. The setting is a farm, that is most likely in the South attempting to grow corn to sell. There are no words in this photograph, and it looks to me that the day the picture was taken was a cloudless day, with heat bearing down on the crops. I believe that this picture was taken to show people in the cities that the crops were severely affected by the terrible heat of the time, causing all plants to die. This image represents the crops that died when the farmers could not take care of their harvests any longer. I think this picture was taken during the Great Depression to symbolize the hard times that befell farmers, and to explain to city folk that food would become harder to obtain. I learned that the crops were dry and not growing well during the Depression, and there is nothing missing from this photograph. Had someone taken this image today, it would be in color, and the audience the picture was intended for would either try to help as best as they could, or do absolutely nothing, and let it be, figuring nothing would happen to them. What has not changed is that people would notice a loss or worsening in the quality and quantity of food from the supermarket. What I wonder about this picture is where in the country this picture was taken, and whom it was taken by.
This next photo is a picture of four children that are minutely biracial; they have a great-grandfather that was African American, while their great-grandmother was white. I noticed that all of these kids looked very poorly dressed, leading me to believe that their parents can not get a great job because they are partially African American. The picture looks like it was taken in front of an old shack, and there are four children with the surname Griffin. They were all standing together in front of the shack on a dirt road. I think this image was taken for the family, so that relatives could have pictures of the children. The children looked almost as if they are posed, since they are all standing together and facing the camera knowingly. The tool used to create the photograph was the camera that it was taken with. I learned that even though the Griffin children were white for the most part, they were still considered African American due to their great-grandfather. There is nothing that needs to be added to this picture, and had this picture been taken now, the circumstances these children are in would have been different. They would have been allowed to go to school where ever they were districted to go, and they would have been better dressed, had shoes on, and be in front of a nicer home had the picture been taken today.
This photograph portrays an ex-slave sitting in a small shack. I noticed that the room he was in was extremely small and that he was very weathered looking. The room that the ex-slave was in was crowded with a bed, desk, and papers hung on the walls. The man was sitting, most likely at a desk, and he seems upset, most likely because he believed that life would get easier, and he would get a job. This however, was not the case. African American men and women would often not be able to get a mediocre job, because white men only wanted white men working for them, no matter how inexperienced they were. There are no visible words, and there are blankets that appear to be handmade behind the ex-slave. This image was most likely made to represent poor living conditions that people, specifically African Americans, lived in during the Great Depression. Nothing is occurring in the image other than the ex-slave sitting in the cramped room. This picture appears to have been taken in the mid-1930s, with a newspaper's camera. I think the picture was for the accepting North, and for the African American population to see the injustices laid before them. The tool used to create this image was a camera. I learned that the African Americans were in such terrible living conditions in the Great Depression from this picture. There is nothing missing from the image. If this picture was taken today, the person would not be an ex-slave, he would probably be a civil rights activist from the days of Martin Luther King Jr. Something that might be the same is the condition of life, as the poorer areas of the country still have houses in which people live similar to this. I wonder if the ex-slave resents that even though he is freed, he can obtain no job or money.
A drinking fountain labeled with a sign 'White.'
This picture is of a restaurant that is labeled "white," meaning that they only accept white patrons. At first, I noticed that the resaurant seems very beaten up, and that it is probably not suceeding, or at least, is too lazy to maintain it's care. The objects shown are signs that both describe some of the obtainable foods and bevarges of the establishment, and that the establishment only accepts white people through their doors. The signs saying that there is water and soup in the establishment are bold and extemely visible from a sidewalk perspective, while the sign depicting that African Americans are not allowed inside is smaller and not as bold. The signs are arranged in no particular order. This restaurant is most likely in a city or large town, and the words read "soup," "water," and "white." The details I notice are a mailbox, frosted windows, and a hand rail. This image was taken to portray the segregation that occurred in establishments such as restaurants, or movie theaters. Nothing is occurring in the image, and the picture was taken in any time between 1930-1945. The audience for this image were both the people that supported civil rights, and the people that would look back upon this image to notify the racism of the United States. A camera and the front of a restaurant were used to create this image, and I learned that people were so racist back in the days before civil rights. This picture is not missing everything; it is clear and straight to the point. Today, the sign reading "white" would not be there, and the front of the building would probably look a little nicer. The signs depicting what items the restaurant holds would be similar, but would probably have the types of drinks (beer, wine) listed. What I wonder is where exactly in the South this restaurant is located.
Secondhand clothing stores and pawn shop on Beale Street labeled with a sign: 'Hotel Clark, The Best Service for Colored Only.'
This is a picture of a hotel that caters to African Americans only. The hotel seems to be in a rougher part of town, and seems to be a weathered old building. There are people passing along the hotel on the sidewalk, and the hotel has a sign that says "HOTEL CLARK, The Best Service for Colored only." I can also see some construction work on a building in the backround. This image was made to display that African Americans would often have second-class service at second-class places, solely because of their race. There is nothing really occurring in this photograph. This picture was most likely taken in the 1930s, and would appeal to African American audiences, specifically, people of that race that wanted more rights. The tools used to create this image were a camera and the sign on a hotel. I learned that many African American people had to expect second-class treatment and service wherever they went in the South, and on all occasions. Today, the hotel might be in a bad part of town, but the hotel would be called a motel and would offer serivces to all races. I wonder if a shite person or African American person owned this establishment.
At the bus station.
This image portrays a bus stop with a waiting room for African American people only. The bus station most likely takes customers of all races, but seperates the white men and women from the African American men and women. There is a man waiting for his bus, standing close to a sign that reads, "COLORED WAITING ROOM." In this photograph, I can see buildings from the town in the backround. I believe that this image was made to capture the extreme levels of segregation that would be apparent at places such as bus stops, which would appeal to people fighting for civil rights. In this image, people are waiting for their bus to come, and the picture was most likely taken in the 1950s. A camera and active life was used for this shot, and I learned that even when places would accept both black and white people, they would still section them off from each other. There is nothing missing from this photo, and had it been taken today, the people would not have been segregated from each other, they would have been able to roam about as they found pleasing. There are no similarities between them and now.
1. Who is the person being interviewed?
2. What is his title or position?
3. What is his race, gender, and age?
4. Where is the Interview taking place?
5. What is the date of the interview?
6. Who is the interviewer?
7. If you can find a picture of this person, put it on the page next to your answers.
Answers:
1. Jacob Stein
2. Jacob Stein is an informant
3. Jacob Stein is Russo-Jewish, but was born in Poland, he is a man, and he is the age of thirty-nine years old when the interview occurred.
4. The interview took place in New York City, in Union Square
5. The date of the interview is December 5th, 1938.
6. The interviewer is B. Hathaway
7. No pictures were available
This picture respresents the tremendous struggles that the African American population went through just to feed theirselves and have clothes on their backs. Even though African Americans were freed from slavery, the working conditions were similar to the ones slaves were forced to be in. As portrayed in this picture, a migrant working family is standing outside a tin-roof shack, one that is most likely in a shantytown by their work place. The clothes that the family has are very tattered and barely fit them. The children are very small, suggeesting that they have not eaten in a long while. If this family has a father that lives with them, he is most likely working for almost no pay, desperately trying to keep his family alive. This is completely symbolic of the hardships that the African American population of America faced during The Great Depression; terrible living conditions, tattered, old clothing that does not fit, and being awfully thin due to the fact that food is especially hard to obtain due to the lack of a steady source of income. It was also hard for African Americans because they were racially unaccepted in the South, and in places of the North, giving people an irrational reason not to hire them, and to hire only white people, mostly men. The mindset was that the white man deserved the job more than an African American man, however, this is not the case; both deserved the equal right to feed, house, and clothe their families.
I see a corn field with dried out dirt and dying corn stalks. I noticed the soil in the photograph first because it is so dry and incapable of growing decent food. There are no people in in this picture, but there is dried out corn stalks, wasting away. They are arranged in neat rows, not that it matters as the plants are dying. The setting is a farm, that is most likely in the South attempting to grow corn to sell. There are no words in this photograph, and it looks to me that the day the picture was taken was a cloudless day, with heat bearing down on the crops. I believe that this picture was taken to show people in the cities that the crops were severely affected by the terrible heat of the time, causing all plants to die. This image represents the crops that died when the farmers could not take care of their harvests any longer. I think this picture was taken during the Great Depression to symbolize the hard times that befell farmers, and to explain to city folk that food would become harder to obtain. I learned that the crops were dry and not growing well during the Depression, and there is nothing missing from this photograph. Had someone taken this image today, it would be in color, and the audience the picture was intended for would either try to help as best as they could, or do absolutely nothing, and let it be, figuring nothing would happen to them. What has not changed is that people would notice a loss or worsening in the quality and quantity of food from the supermarket. What I wonder about this picture is where in the country this picture was taken, and whom it was taken by.
This next photo is a picture of four children that are minutely biracial; they have a great-grandfather that was African American, while their great-grandmother was white. I noticed that all of these kids looked very poorly dressed, leading me to believe that their parents can not get a great job because they are partially African American. The picture looks like it was taken in front of an old shack, and there are four children with the surname Griffin. They were all standing together in front of the shack on a dirt road. I think this image was taken for the family, so that relatives could have pictures of the children. The children looked almost as if they are posed, since they are all standing together and facing the camera knowingly. The tool used to create the photograph was the camera that it was taken with. I learned that even though the Griffin children were white for the most part, they were still considered African American due to their great-grandfather. There is nothing that needs to be added to this picture, and had this picture been taken now, the circumstances these children are in would have been different. They would have been allowed to go to school where ever they were districted to go, and they would have been better dressed, had shoes on, and be in front of a nicer home had the picture been taken today.
This photograph portrays an ex-slave sitting in a small shack. I noticed that the room he was in was extremely small and that he was very weathered looking. The room that the ex-slave was in was crowded with a bed, desk, and papers hung on the walls. The man was sitting, most likely at a desk, and he seems upset, most likely because he believed that life would get easier, and he would get a job. This however, was not the case. African American men and women would often not be able to get a mediocre job, because white men only wanted white men working for them, no matter how inexperienced they were. There are no visible words, and there are blankets that appear to be handmade behind the ex-slave. This image was most likely made to represent poor living conditions that people, specifically African Americans, lived in during the Great Depression. Nothing is occurring in the image other than the ex-slave sitting in the cramped room. This picture appears to have been taken in the mid-1930s, with a newspaper's camera. I think the picture was for the accepting North, and for the African American population to see the injustices laid before them. The tool used to create this image was a camera. I learned that the African Americans were in such terrible living conditions in the Great Depression from this picture. There is nothing missing from the image. If this picture was taken today, the person would not be an ex-slave, he would probably be a civil rights activist from the days of Martin Luther King Jr. Something that might be the same is the condition of life, as the poorer areas of the country still have houses in which people live similar to this. I wonder if the ex-slave resents that even though he is freed, he can obtain no job or money.
This picture is of a restaurant that is labeled "white," meaning that they only accept white patrons. At first, I noticed that the resaurant seems very beaten up, and that it is probably not suceeding, or at least, is too lazy to maintain it's care. The objects shown are signs that both describe some of the obtainable foods and bevarges of the establishment, and that the establishment only accepts white people through their doors. The signs saying that there is water and soup in the establishment are bold and extemely visible from a sidewalk perspective, while the sign depicting that African Americans are not allowed inside is smaller and not as bold. The signs are arranged in no particular order. This restaurant is most likely in a city or large town, and the words read "soup," "water," and "white." The details I notice are a mailbox, frosted windows, and a hand rail. This image was taken to portray the segregation that occurred in establishments such as restaurants, or movie theaters. Nothing is occurring in the image, and the picture was taken in any time between 1930-1945. The audience for this image were both the people that supported civil rights, and the people that would look back upon this image to notify the racism of the United States. A camera and the front of a restaurant were used to create this image, and I learned that people were so racist back in the days before civil rights. This picture is not missing everything; it is clear and straight to the point. Today, the sign reading "white" would not be there, and the front of the building would probably look a little nicer. The signs depicting what items the restaurant holds would be similar, but would probably have the types of drinks (beer, wine) listed. What I wonder is where exactly in the South this restaurant is located.
This is a picture of a hotel that caters to African Americans only. The hotel seems to be in a rougher part of town, and seems to be a weathered old building. There are people passing along the hotel on the sidewalk, and the hotel has a sign that says "HOTEL CLARK, The Best Service for Colored only." I can also see some construction work on a building in the backround. This image was made to display that African Americans would often have second-class service at second-class places, solely because of their race. There is nothing really occurring in this photograph. This picture was most likely taken in the 1930s, and would appeal to African American audiences, specifically, people of that race that wanted more rights. The tools used to create this image were a camera and the sign on a hotel. I learned that many African American people had to expect second-class treatment and service wherever they went in the South, and on all occasions. Today, the hotel might be in a bad part of town, but the hotel would be called a motel and would offer serivces to all races. I wonder if a shite person or African American person owned this establishment.
This image portrays a bus stop with a waiting room for African American people only. The bus station most likely takes customers of all races, but seperates the white men and women from the African American men and women. There is a man waiting for his bus, standing close to a sign that reads, "COLORED WAITING ROOM." In this photograph, I can see buildings from the town in the backround. I believe that this image was made to capture the extreme levels of segregation that would be apparent at places such as bus stops, which would appeal to people fighting for civil rights. In this image, people are waiting for their bus to come, and the picture was most likely taken in the 1950s. A camera and active life was used for this shot, and I learned that even when places would accept both black and white people, they would still section them off from each other. There is nothing missing from this photo, and had it been taken today, the people would not have been segregated from each other, they would have been able to roam about as they found pleasing. There are no similarities between them and now.
Part Three: